Manila- Philippine security forces have lost track of an ailing Italian Red Cross worker held by Muslim militants on a southern island for over 100 days, a Marine spokesman acknowledged Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo appealed for public "patience and understanding" as security forces tried to determine the exact location of Eugenio Vagni, a staffer of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Manila  - Four people were killed when an argument over the cutting of trees turned violent in the southern Philippines, a police report said Sunday.

Three people were also wounded when two warring groups fought with guns and machetes in Bislig City in the southern province of Surigao del Sur on Friday, the police report said.

The violence erupted when local officials of San Jose village stopped members of a local religious group from cutting trees along a national road.

Manila - Five people were killed when a cargo truck plunged into a ravine Saturday on a northern Philippine highway, a police report said. One more passenger was injured in the accident that occurred at dawn along a highway in Diadi town in Nueva Vizcaya province, 395 kilometres north of Manila.

The victims were aboard the truck that was loaded with fruit and was on the way to nearby Isabela province.

Manila - Two Swiss men were arrested in a southern Philippine city for allegedly operating a cybersex den, a police report said Saturday. The two suspects were arrested Friday during a raid in a three-story house in Kauswagan village in the outskirts of Cagayan de Oro City, 835 kilometres south of Manila.

Seventeen young women, allegedly involved in the cybersex ring were also taken into custody by the raiding team. At least six of the women were caught performing sex acts before a camera attached to a computer which was connected to the internet.

Manila - The Philippines has formed a task force to help a chemical tanker stranded off the coast of Somalia without fuel after being freed by pirates, the foreign ministry said Friday.

The Philippine-registered MT Stolt Strength, with 23 Filipino sailors on board, was released by pirates on Tuesday after five months in captivity. All the crew were unharmed and the ship was supposed to sail to Oman.

Manila - A US Marine whose rape conviction was overturned by the Philippines' appeals court has left the country as protesters denounced the reversal, the US Embassy said Friday.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, 24, has been under the custody of the US Embassy in Manila since he was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison in December
2006.